Bill > S3833

Introduced Session

This bill establishes several procedures by which a plenary retail consumption license, generally issued to bars and restaurants, may be transferred to another municipality. Under current law, a municipality may issue plenary retail consumption licenses until the combined total number in the municipality is fewer than one license for each 3,000 municipal residents. This bill allows a municipality that is entitled to issue an additional plenary retail consumption license to offer the license at public sale to the highest bidding governing body of any other municipality in this State. A license transferred to a receiving municipality pursuant to this section only is to be used in connection with a premises as part of an economic redevelopment plan or located within a redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization area. The bill requires the host municipality to provide notice of the public sale to the director and other municipalities at least 90 days prior to the sale. The notice to the municipalities is to specify the minimum acceptable bid and general conditions of sale including a statement that the transferring municipality reserves the right to reject all bids where the highest bid is not accepted. The funds derived from the sale are to be remitted to the municipal treasurer for the general use of the host municipality. A receiving municipality that acquires the license would be entitled to offer the license at public sale. A license issued by the receiving municipality to a qualified bidder that is not actively used in connection with the operation of a premises within two years of the issuance date is to expire and not be reissued by the receiving municipality. The receiving municipality would be prohibited from acquiring more than one license through this bidding process in each calendar year. In addition, this bill establishes two procedures for transferring an inactive plenary retail consumption license to a different municipality. Under current law, an inactive plenary retail consumption license is a license to sell alcoholic beverages for on premises consumption that is not being used at an open and operating licensed premises. A licensee is required to place the license on "inactive status" when the licensed business ceases operation and the license continues to be held by the licensee of record. Under this bill, a license that remains inactive for two years is to expire. Prior to the expiration of the license, the license holder may apply to the governing body of the host municipality that issued the license and a contiguous neighboring municipality to use the license in connection with a premises located in the contiguous receiving municipality. An inactive plenary retail consumption license used in a contiguous receiving municipality only would be used as part of an economic redevelopment plan or in connection with a premises located within a redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization area. The bill requires the transferred license to remain in the contiguous receiving municipality and prohibits the transfer of the license to any other municipality. Under the bill, the host and receiving municipalities are to submit to the director notice of the intent to transfer a license at least 90 days prior to the transfer. The bill requires the host and receiving municipalities to adopt by majority vote identical resolutions authorizing the transfer of the license. The identical resolutions are to establish the license transfer fee agreed upon by both municipal governing bodies. A receiving municipality that acquires a license would be entitled to offer the license at public sale in accordance with current law. A license issued by a receiving municipality that is not actively used in connection with the operation of a premises within two years of the transfer date would expire and not be reissued by the receiving municipality. The bill prohibits a receiving contiguous municipality from acquiring more than one license through this transfer process in each calendar year. This bill also allows a receiving municipality that has reached the license population limitation established under current law to issue a request for proposal (RFP) to acquire an inactive plenary retail consumption license from any license holder in this State. The bill requires the receiving municipality to issue the license for use in connection with a premises as part of economic redevelopment plan or a redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization area. The RFP would specify a time and date after which no further applications from license holders will be accepted. The municipality is to publish the RFP in a newspaper circulating generally throughout the State by not less than two insertions, one week apart, the second of which is to be made not less than 30 days prior to the time and date specified in the notice as the time and date after which no further applications will be accepted. In addition, the request for proposal is to be published by the governing body on the official Internet website of the receiving municipality. The RFP is to require that all bids to be sealed and remain confidential to other bidders. The holder of an inactive plenary retail consumption license is to apply for permission to transfer the inactive plenary retail consumption license from the host municipality prior to submitting a bid in response to the RFP. The host municipality may approve the application by resolution. The host municipality would be prohibited from requiring the applicant to disclose the location of the proposed licensed premises. After the receiving municipality accepts a successful bid, the host and receiving municipality are to submit to the ABC director notice of the intent to transfer a license at least 90 days prior to the transfer. The bill requires the issuing and receiving municipalities to adopt by majority vote identical resolutions authorizing the transfer of the license. The identical resolutions are to establish the license transfer fee agreed upon by both municipal governing bodies. The bill requires a license that is not actively used within two years of issuance date to expire. A receiving municipality that issued the RFP would be prohibited from acquiring more than one license through this process in each calendar year. In addition, the bill establishes a procedure by which existing plenary retail distribution licenses may be converted to plenary retail consumption licenses as part of an economic redevelopment plan orfor use in a redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization area. Under current law, a plenary retail distribution license allows for the sale of alcoholic beverages off the licensed premises and is generally issued to liquor stores and supermarkets. The procedure allows the holder of a plenary retail distribution license to apply to a host municipality and receiving municipality located in the same county to transfer the distribution license to the receiving municipality. Upon receiving the distribution license, the receiving municipality would be required to convert the plenary retail distribution license to a plenary retail consumption license and then issue that license at public sale in accordance with current law. The bill requires the issuing and receiving municipalities to adopt by majority vote identical resolutions authorizing the transfer of the license. The bill prohibits a receiving municipality from acquiring and converting more than one distribution license through this transfer process in each calendar year. The bill also allows a person who held a seasonal retail consumption license prior to the bill's effective date to surrender the license to the issuing authority, which then may exchange the license for a plenary retail consumption license. This license will permit the licensee to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the licensed premises throughout the entire year. Under current law, a seasonal retail consumption license allows for the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption for a limited time during the summer or winter season. A license issued during the summer season allows the licensee to serve alcoholic beverages from May 1 through November 14. The holder of a winter seasonal license may sell alcoholic beverages from November 15 to April 30. This bill allows a seasonal retail consumption license to convert the license to a full-year consumption license and requires the licensee to pay the fees associated with the full-year license. The plenary retail consumption licenses transferred to or acquired by a receiving municipality under the bill's provisions would not be included in the population formula used to issue new licenses.

Committee Categories

Joe Cryan (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 05/11/2023)

Official Document